Ayala Land marks second year in US by opening another office

Opening second Ayala Land office, left to right: Country Manager Bong Gutierrez, Deputy ConGen Jaimon Ascalon, Ayala Land Int’l President Antonino Aquino and Gen. Manager Anna Tatlonghari. PHOTO BY MANDY CHAVEZ

SAN FRANCISCO, California — Business must be good. Ayala Land, the Philippines’ premier real estate developer, marked the second-year of its presence in the US by opening its second office here last Feb. 27.

Ayala Land’s new, second office is located on the 4^th floor of the Philippine General Consulate’s office building on Sutter Street in the Union Square area of San Francisco. Its first sales office is in the Season’s MarketPlace, a Filipino lifestyle center, in Milpitas, California.

A mix of realtors, community leaders and consular staff attended the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony and blessing of the second premises.

Ayala Land President Antonino Aquino spoke about the Philippine economy in glowing terms, touting the phenomenal growth of its Gross Domestic Product and the rate of appreciation and value increases in Philippine real estate.

Aquino also alluded to the country’s vastly improved credit rating by the World Bank and by International credit rating bureaus, noting that the Philippines is now rated as investment grade in world financial markets.

Explaining the Philippines’ resurgent economy, Aquino credited the many years of fiscal prudence and the series of economic reforms, many imposed by the International Monetary Fund during the last years of the Marcos regime.

The reforms have stayed in place through the years and their effects continue to be felt, some creating the conditions that have directly resulted in improvements in the country’s productivity and gross receipts

From the economy, Aquino shifted his subject to Ayala Land, its various development and the reasons for its success and why people should consider owning a unit in any of its developments.

Aquino detailed Ayala Land’s current business focus, which is to spread out to locations outside of the Manila megalopolis, to areas such as Angeles City right around the former Clark US Air Force Base where, according to Aquino, the international airport may be moved or a second one opened.

Other cities where Ayala either has ongoing development projects or is thinking of one include Cebu and Iloilo, Davao City, Batangas and later, Cagayan de Oro, again near the airport. Though largely known for its high-end real estate developments, Ayala Land has also decided to broaden its product line to accommodate the housing needs of all market segments of the Philippine population, adding the Amaia and Bella Vita models. Some of these are projected to be priced around P450,000 or US$10,000, targeting  the lower-income segment of the population..

Aquino explained that Ayala developments have enjoyed consistent value appreciation and investor confidence because its projects are integrated communities, with a good mix of residential, shopping, office, even hotel components in its larger projects.

They are always properly master-planned and backed up post-sale by professional property management, Aquino said. Past performance by Ayala-built units as investment properties provide investors the reason to continue to look at Ayala developed properties as good investments.

Aquino also pointed to the Philippines’s positive investment outlook, which is built on a low inflation rate, high domestic liquidity, structural reforms that have resulted in sustainable growth and increasing remittances from overseas Filipinos. He singled out investment in rental property as being particularly attractive, with gross rental yields being among the highest in the ASEAN region at 7.1 percent.

With another office in the Bay Area to reach out to Filipino Americans looking to invest in Philippine real estate or to retire back home, Ayala Land is one-step closer to its planned coast-to-coast presence in the US.

Aquino pointed out that the housing supply in the Philippines is still far from saturation point with the need currently at 4-million units.

Anna Tatlonghari, general manager of Ayala Land International Sales, Inc. highlighted Ayala land’s role in nation building as it provides shelter and community not only for local residents but especially for the overseas Filipino market.

Bong Gutierrez, country manager, stressed the ease of acquiring Ayala Land properties due to the local service they receive, from digital representation to allowing relatives to view and check the properties in the Philippines, documentation and partnership with local and international banks that can offer mortgage services.

With all the things going for the Philippines currently, Ayala Land continues to see only good things in its future. https://www.ayalaland.com.ph/international/philippines/

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